Child&#39;s vehicle.



R. H. BROWN.

CHILDS'VEHICLE.

APPLICATION man JULY 21,1916.

Patented July 31, 1917.

3'SHEETS-SHEET 1 R. H. BROWN. CHILDS VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21.1916.

Patented July 31, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 R. H. BROWN.

CHILD'S VEHICLE. APPLICATION FILED JULYVZI, 1916. 1,234,725. PatentedJuly 31,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT .oEEIoE REINHARDT H. BROWN, 0]? LAPORIE, INDIANA,ASSIGNOR, TO OUTING KUMFY-KAB COMPANY, OF LAPORTE, INDIANA, ACORPORATION GF INDIANA.

CHILDS VEHICLE.

Application filed July 21, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REINHARDT H. BROWN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Laporte, in the county of Laporte and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ChildrensVehicles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactspecification.

My invention is concerned with childrens vehicles, and is designed toproduce a vehicle of the class described that is especially adapted foruse either of very young infants that must lie down in the vehicle, asin the ordinary baby-carriage, or for older ones who can sit up, as inan ordinary childs sulky. To this end, my invention consists of a novelvehicle preferably including an adjustable back-rest in combination witha foot-well than can be shoved back beneath the seat when it is used byan older child sitting erect with his feet on the customary foot-rest,or drawn out over the foot-rest and receive the infants feet suitablywrapped in a blanket when it is so young that it must lie down in thevehicle, or its feet would not readily reach down to the foot-rest whensitting up.

To illustrate my invention, I have annexed hereto three sheets ofdrawings, in which the same reference characters are used to designateidentical parts in all the figures, of which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle embodying my invention,adjusted for the use of a child that can sit up;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section as seen on the line 22 of Fig.3, adjusted for a baby that must recline in the vehicle;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of the vehicle as seen on a larger scale and folded up;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of the backrest mechanism; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are details on an enlarged scale in perspective, and sideelevation partly in section, respectively, of the front portion of thefoot-well.

lVhile my invention is capable of use with 2 various forms of childrensvehicles, I have shown it as applied to a collapsible sulky of the typeshown in my application Serial No. 69,792, filed January 3, 1916, ofwhich this application is an enforced division, and in thisspecification, the non-essential features Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

Serial No. 110,459. r I

will be described somewhat briefly, while the vital features will bedescribed more fully.

The main frame of the sulky in the embodiment shown is generallyrectangular in its outlines, and is made up of the two side bars 12,which are connected near their rear ends by the cross bar 13. The rearends of the bars 12 are curved downward, as seen at 21, and have thesmall wheels 22 journaled thereon, these wheels serving as a pair of thefour supports to hold the sulky in the vertical position shown in Fig.4, which wheels are used in the customary manner in drawing the sulky upand down over curb stones or steps, the other two supports being formedby the curved ends 15 ofthe U shaped cross-bar 13.

The seat 23 preferably consists of a substantially square piece of woodor some other strong and light-weight material of suitable thickness,and which may be cushioned, as shown, as much as desired, and the rearedge of this seat 23 is suitably secured to the upper surface of thehorizontal bar 2a, which has the upturned ends 25, to which are pivotedthe rear arms 26 of the side frames or arm-rests, which have thehorizontal arm-rests 27 pivotedon the upper ends of the bars 26, and inturn pivoted at their front ends to the vertical arms or levers 28 ofthe erecting bail, which is pivoted to the inner side of. the main-frametubes 12 at 29, the arms 28 being preferably shaped, as shown, insubstantially an ogee curve to bring the horizontal connecting bar 30constituting the horizontal portion of the bail in proper relationshipto the wheel-frames. The front end of the seat 23 is secured to the bar31 corresponding to the rear bar 24:, which bar has the stop lug 32depending downwardly from its center for the purpose to be hereinafterdescribed. The bars 24 and 31 are riveted at their ends to thehorizontal bars 33, which 3 ends 38, corresponding to the rear curvedends 35, but somewhat smaller, and these spring ends 38 are riveted, asbest seen in Fig. 2, to a bracket 89 secured to the inner ends of therivets 29 upon which the arms 28 of the erecting bail are pivoted, theerecting bail being interposed between the tubular sides 12 of the mainframe and the vertical portion of the angular brackets 39. By theconstruction shown, I have secured a very elastic cushioned seat that isheld a few inches above the main frame so as to furnish room beneath itfor the drawer or foot-well 40, which preferably consists of arectangular frame made up of the rear rod 41 and a bar 42 bent into aU-shape so as to form the front and sides of the top of the foot-well.The sides of this bar 42 have their upper edges bent to form the hookedflanges 43 which slide in the reversely hooked flanges 44 of theguideway bars 45 secured on the under side of the bars 33, preferablybeing riveted between said bars 33 and the horizontal portions 34 of thesupporting springs. A front portion of the bar 42 has the stiffeningmember 46 secured to and depending therefrom to form the front of thefoot-well, and this member 46 has the horizontal portion 47 extendingrearwardly therefrom, while the sides and bottom of the foot-well areformed by the fabric 48 secured to the top of the rectangular frame andinclosing the stiffening portions 46 and 47. This foot-well is held inits closed or unused position by the top of the front contacting withthe stop lug 32, while said lug similarly contacts with the bar 41 atthe rear of the footwell to prevent its being accidentally drawn out ofthe supporting ways. A flexible loop 49 is provided to enable thefoot-well to be readily manipulated.

The back-rest 50 is constructed like the body of the seat, and has itssides and top secured in the metal frame 51, which is U- shaped in crosssection for most of its length, and is also U-shaped in its generaldesign, the ends 52 thereof, however, being flattened and pivoted on thesame rivets 53 by which the side-frame bars 26 are pivoted on theupturned ends 25 of the bar 24. This backframe is held in a plurality ofpositions by the bail 54, best seen in Fig. 5, which is preferably madeof a heavy wire and is of a general U-shape, it being pivoted at itsends by loops encircling the headed studs 55 projecting outwardly fromthe upper ends of the side pieces 26 to which they are secured. The back50 has a flat metal-bar 56 secured to and extending horizontally acrossthe back side thereof below the center, and has the forwardly projectingshort arms 57 at its ends. The bail 54 has the upwardly extendingportions 58 at its ends connected by the curves 59 with the normallyvertical portions 60, and, as shown in Fig. 5, when the bail is in thefull-line position, the back 50, through the ends of the bar 56, is heldin a vertical position between the arms 26 and the vertical portion 60of the bail 54, and being thus substantially attached to the arms 26,will be collapsed therewith when the sulky is collapsed. The bar 56 inturn reacts on the bail 50 and holds it in the full-line position, butit will be obvious that when the bail is forcibly pulled up to thedotted-line position shown in Fig. 5, it will be sprung sufficiently torelieve it from the holding action of the flat side of the barcooperating with the vertical portion 60, and it may then be swung upfurther so as to release the hail from any confining action of the bar51, in which position the back can be swung rearwardly either to theextreme limit shown in Fig. 2, where the back rests against the bail, orto an intermediate position, shown in full lines in Fig. 1, where theends of the bar 56 enter the loops 61 formed in the vertical portion 60of the bail. R-iveted to the inner sides of the side pieces 12 are therectangular plates 62, having the inturned flanges 63 at their ends, thelower portions of which serve as a hinge for the wheel-frames 64, whichare preferably formed of sheet-metal and of a generally triangularshape, having the wheel axles or studs 65 rigidly secured and projectingoutwardly from the lower ends thereof to receive the customary wheels 66mounted thereon. A rod 67 is fastened in the flanges 63 and serves as apintle for the hinge formed by said flanges and the cars 68 projectingupward from the ends of the wheel-frames 64; and to collapse the wheelsautomatically when they are released, I may mount on the rod 67 a coiledtorsional spring 69, one end of which reacts against the bot-- tom ofthe plate 62, while the other end reacts against the top of thewheel-frames 64, so that the spring always tends to throw thewheel-frames to the collapsed position shown in Fig. 4. The wheel-framesare provided with cams and hook portions 71, suitably designed tocoperate with the erecting bail 29 to erect the wheel-frames and lockthem in their erected position in the customary manner.

Pivoted to the inner edges of the forward portion of the bars 12 by therivets 74 is a front standard 75, which is preferably formed of a metalbar of substantially U- shape in its general outline except that it hasinclined portions 76 near its upper end to narrow the frame so that thepair of bars 79 constituting the frame for the foot-rest 80 may bepivoted thereto at 81 at the proper distance apart. The rear ends ofthese bars 79 are bent somewhat to cause them to diverge, and they arepivoted at said rear ends by the rivets 82 to the lower ends of thelovers 28 of the erecting bail. As the parts are collapsed, the standard7 5 and the foot-rest and its supporting bars will be folded rearwardlyand upwardly between the wheel-frames and the seat, as seen in Fig. 4.lVhile the erecting frame might be manipulated in any suitable manner, Ipreferably manipulate it by the tongue 83, pivoted in the forward end ofthe main frame by its forked portion at 87, the forked innerends of thetongue being connected by the links 88 pivoted thereto to the sidepieces 28 of the erecting bail, sothat the tongue may be employed as anoperating lever to col lapse and erect the sulky.

The operation of my invention will be readily apparent. Assuming that itis purchased for the use of a very young baby, in the use the parts arepositioned as shown in Fig. 2, where the baby, suitably wrapped up, canbe laid on the seat with its head against the slightly inclinedback-rest 50, and with its feet wrapped up and resting in the foot-well,which is drawn out to the limit of its possible movement and preferablyhas its forward lower edge resting on the footrest 80, as shown in Fig.2. In this position, the baby is held in place by the side-arms 27 withsufiicient security so that it can be hauled about the same as in anordinary baby-carriage; When the foot-well is not in use, some of theapparel can be placed therein, and it can be shoved back beneath theseat, as shown in Fig. 1. As the child grows older, and it is desired tohave it sit up, the back can be erected completely, as indicated indotted lines in Fig. 2, or partially, as shown in Fig. 1, and with thefootwell shoved back beneath the seat, as shown in Fig. 1, the child isfree to sit up in the cart with its feet supported on the footrest 80 inthe customary manner.

While I have shown and described my invention as embodied in the formwhich I at present consider best adapted to carry out its purposes, itwill be understood that it is capable of modifications, and that I donot desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claimsexcept as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with the mainframe and a seat supported thereby, of an adjustable back-restcooperating with the seat, armrests at the sides of the seat, afoot-rest below and forward of the seat, and a foot-well adapted to bemoved beneath the seat 01' extended forward over the foot-rest.

2. Ina device of the class described, the combination with the mainframe and a seatsupported thereby, of an adjustable back-restcooperating with the seat, armrests at the sides of the seat, afoot-rest below and forward of the seat, a foot-well adapted to be movedbeneath the seat or 6X- tended forward over the foot-rest, andconnections for collapsing and erecting the footrest, back-rest andarm-rests; substantially as and'for the purpose described.

3. In a device of the class described, the

combination with a main frame and a seat supported thereby, of anadjustable back-rest cooperating with the seat, armrests at the sides ofthe seat, a foot-rest be low and forward of the seat, a foot welladapted to be moved beneath the seat or extended forward over thefoot-rest, wheelframes attached to the main frame, and connections forcollapsing and erecting the footrest, back-rest, arm-rests andwheel-frames.

4:. In a device of the class described, the combination with a mainframe and a seat supported thereby, of an adjustable back-restcooperating with the seat, armrests at the sides of the seat, afoot-rest below and forward of the seat, guides beneath the seat, and adrawer-like foot-well adapted to have its upper sides cooperate with theguides.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a main frameand a seat supported thereby, of an adjustable back-rest cooperatingwith the seat, armrests at the sides of the seat, a foot-rest below andforward of the seat, guides beneath the seat, a drawer-like foot-welladapted to have its upper sides cooperate with the guides, andconnections for collapsing and erecting the foot-rest, back-rest andarmrests.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a main frameand a seat supported thereby, of an adjustable back-rest cooperatingwith the seat, armrests at the sides of the seat, a foot-rest below andforward of the seat, guides beneath the seat, a drawer-like foot-welladapted to have its upper sides cooperate with the guides, wheel-framesconnected to the main frame, and connections for collapsing and erectingthe foot-rest, back-rest, arm-rests and wheel-frames.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a main frameand a seat supported thereby, of an adjustable back-rest cooperatingwith the seat, a footrest below and forward of the seat, guides beneaththe seat, a drawer-like foot-well adapted to have its upper sidescooperate with the guides, and a stop cooperating with the rear of thefoot-well to prevent its being entirely withdrawn, but permitting itsforward end to drop on the foot-rest.

8. In a device of theclass described, the combination with running gearsincluding the main frame, of a seat carried thereby and having guideribs on the under side thereof, and a drawer-like foot-well havingcooperating guide-ribs on its upper edges cooperating therewith.

9. In a device of the class described, the combination with runninggears including a main frame, of a seat carried thereby and guide-ribson the under side thereof, a drawer-like foot-well having cooperatingguide ribs on its upper edges cooperating therewith and a. stopdepending from the front of the seat into the line of movement of thefront and rear edges of the top of the drawer.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination with runninggears including the main frame, of a seat'carried thereby and guide ribson the under side thereof, springs interposed between the corners ofsaid seat and the main frame, and a drawerlike foot-well havingcooperating guide-ribs on its upper edges cooperating with theguide-ribs on the under side of the seat.

11. In a device of the class described, the combination with the mainframe and a seat supported thereby, of means above the seat for holdingthe child in place, a footrest below and forward of the seat, and afoot-well adapted to be moved beneath the seat or extended forward overthe foot-rest.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and afiixed my seal,this 12th day of July, A. D. 1916.

REINHARDT H. BROIVN. [Ls] WVitness:

JOHN HOWARD MOELROY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

